U of I board cutting investments ties to Sudan

SPRINGFIELD -- The University of Illinois Board of Trustees voted Thursday to sell $2.3 million worth of investments in companies that do business with the government of Sudan.

Laura Camper

By LAURA CAMPER

STATE CAPITOL BUREAU

SPRINGFIELD -- The University of Illinois Board of Trustees voted Thursday to sell $2.3 million worth of investments in companies that do business with the government of Sudan.

Through Janjaweed, an Arab militia, the Sudanese government has carried out what the United Nations has called genocide in Darfur. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed since 2003, when the genocide began. Millions have been left homeless.

“This is in keeping with the policy promulgated by the state itself,” said Tom Hardy, spokesman for the university. “(The trustees) agree with the campaign to put pressure on the government there to end its genocidal practices.”

He said some 40 other educational institutions in the United States have already done this.

Trustee James Montgomery said the vote “allows us to join other institutions that have decided to put pressure on a government engaging in genocide, engaging in an activity that should not be tolerated.”

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin praised the board for its decision.

“Today, I applaud the leadership of the University of Illinois trustees who have taken steps to divest and make a commitment to peace in the region,” the Springfield Democrat said in a news release.

State laws passed in the last several years already prohibit the investment of state funds or state pensions in Sudanese companies or companies with interests in Sudan.

The Institutional Shareholder Service identifies companies that have ties to Sudan through monthly divestment reports. The U of I will use the divestment list to guide the sale and purchase of its investments.

Laura Camper can be reached at (217) 782-6882 or laura.camper@sj-r.com.